Tsuzuki Takumi is an Ordinary High-School Student who lives with his older sister Otome. He along with his childhood friend Serizawa Fumino run a patisserie called "Stray Cats". The name is apt as his sister often brings back stray cats. The story begins when one day, instead of a cat, something unexpected is brought home!

Mayoi Neko Overrun! is a Light Novel series authored by Matsu Tomohiro, with illustrations done by Peko. For its manga adaptation, Kentaro Yabuki (Black Cat, To Love-Ru) does the art.

An anime adaptation aired in the spring of 2010. Due to either experimentation or problems behind the scenes, the anime is unique. Every episode is directed by a new director.

This series provides examples of:

Adaptation Distillation: Predictably, both the anime and manga cut out a lot of idle conversation and less important events, leaving only major plot points.

Adaptation Explanation Extrication: A reverse form takes place between the manga and light novels; Mikan claims the Stray Cats Patisserie makes good cakes, while in the light novel Takumi states that Otome only makes whatever heavy cakes won't spoil in a week before she goes crusading off again.

Author Appeal: Thanks to Kentaro Yabuki illustrating the manga adaptation, Matsu Tomohiro has allowed him some degree of freedom with regards to the little details. This includes amping the fanservice Up to Eleven and being able to insert characters from To Love-Ru (even though their stories have nothing in common, the ambiguity of the setting certainly helps with the cause). The characters also come off a whole lot curvier than Peko's original illustrations, but that can probably be attributed to Yabuki's usual drawing style.

Balanced Harem: In the anime at least, none of the girls have a significant lead over the others with Takumi.

Blatant Lies: Fumino always (or almost always) means the opposite of what she says, due to Takumi encouraging her to do that when they were younger, and the other kids picked on her. As a result, in one episode she accidentally lets out an Anguished Declaration of Love to him, only to try and play it off as a lie in the first place, thus restoring the status quo. Not that she seemed comfortable about that lie however...

Nozomi thought she was being a burden to Stray Cats for being a Pretty Freeloader as well as a orphan/stray.

Fumino thought Tsuzuki didn't need her anymore now that Nozomi is starting to be productive at Stray Cats.

Chise bought all the pastries in Stray Cats (and presumably threw them away) so that Tsuzuki would have more free time to have fun with her since her parents are never around.

Butt-Monkey: Chise for most part. Early on she often tries to gather the group together to do something, but they always bail out on her. In one episode, she appears by Takumi's classroom, only to have the door shut in her face by Ieyasu.

Ieyasu at other times, especially to Fumino.

The Cameo: To Love-Ru cameos: Mikan and Celine appear as regular customers of the Stray Cats. Magical Girl Kyouko appears on TV, Run does also, in her "Magical Kyouko villian" costume. One of Run's idol poster is seen and that old teacher appears as a customer too. Saki and her posse also attend a formal gathering in Chise's mansion. Mikan also returns with her friends as a plot point when Chise starts buying all of Stray Cat's pastries. Kotegawa Yui has appeared in chapter 4, while the gang were looking for the owner of the black cat, who happen to be Mikan's teacher. Oshizu and Haruna also appear to be customers of Stray Cats as of chapter 6. And in chapter 7, Golden Darkness is bathing at the public bath they visit.

Page 27 of Chapter 8 includes Lala, and a child who appears to be "kid Train."

Earlier on one of the videogames being played had the Maro, big sumo gravity taoist, in it fighting against Kyoko, both from Black Cat.

In the second chapter, you can see a poster for Run's new single.

Cannot Spit It Out: Both averted AND inverted. Fumino, being the resident Tsundere, always says the opposite of what she means in front of Takumi. She actually thinks about it before finally saying, "I HATE YOU!!!"

And this happens as early as the 2nd chapter of the manga, making this the ultimate Averted Trope. When confronted by Takumi the following day, she makes it absolutely clear by saying, "Of course, it was a lie."

Further, in Chapter 7, Fumino thinks that she's confessed to Takumi "so often," but, she feels, he only looks like he understands.

The first episode of the anime shows Chise playing this trope straight, as her two maids, Satou and Suzuki, reveal how Chise waited outside Stray Cats for an opportunity to get a chance to help Takumi.

Fumino confesses to Takumi in episode 3 while they're looking for Nozomi, although nothing really seems to come of it.

A hilarious incident happens in episode 9 on the beach. Takumi falls down near Nozomi while evading Chise's attempts to hit him during the Smashing Watermelons event. He gets up, and Nozomi suddenly grabs him. Both Fumino and Chise scream and in the very next scene, his sister wonders how he got two black eyes.

Emotionless Girl: Nozomi, whose default mood happens to be this. She rarely shows emotion on her face, and is generally quiet for most part. However, when Takumi tells her she could treat him as she did an important family member, she is touched by his words and cries.

Expressive Hair: While the "ears" on top of Nozomi's head are nothing more than hair, they still move around like they were cat ears.

Expy: Otome's appearance and behavior make her a lot similar to Azusa Miura.

Fanservice: Much more so in the manga than its other iterations. (In particular, Chapter 7 is a nipple bonanza.)

Funny Background Event: In episode 6, Takumi first sees a half fishman in the Amazon jungle. He tries to tell Fumino about it, but she just kicks him instead. Later in South America he sees a UFO flying around in the sky, and once again tries to get Fumino's attention, and gets kicked again. When they're in the Himalayas, he sees a sasquatch, but either due to being Genre Savvy, or being extremely sleep deprived, he just looks at it and casually mentions that seeing that isn't unusual at all.

Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each light novels' title mentions adoption, and uses the cover character's form of speech. note Titles (from Chinese):1. It's not like I wanted to be picked up!/2. Did I permit you to pick me up?!/3. ...pick me up?/4. Watch me pick you all up and take you home ~ !

Kung-Shui: being Played for Laughs, Fumino and Chise punch Ieyasu through a window when the Stray Cats commercial he was shooting was focusing on ... certain areas of the girls rather than the scenery they took the trouble to create for it.

Leaning on the Fourth Wall: A text shows up revealing that Takumi has failed half of his tests before Takumi even knows the results, Takumi is shocked to see it...

Takumi has another of his Accidental Pervert moments with Fumino, and says this is a bit like To Love-Ru ... considering all the TLR characters showing up, including a minor one in the room with them at that very moment....

Les Yayinvoked: Class Rep Kanae's enthusiastic reaction to walking in on Fumino, Otome, Nozomi, and Chise all in their underwear or less.

Chise's two maids don P.E. uniforms in Chapter 6: and, well.... Both subtle (they appear to be holding hands) and unsubtle (Suzuki's other forearm is completely up under Sato's T-shirt, with the hand apparently between her breasts). They've still each got an arm around the other's waist on the next page.

Episode eight brings us awesome Jenga, borrowing many of the visual cues from Saki, which the director of this episode also directed.

Mundane Utility: Stray Cats Appreciation Society's promotional video costs one building destroyed, a whole jungle painted, and the Nazca Lines defaced beyond repair... all for three meaningless minutes of Panty Shots, but hey, at least it got a million views!

Takumi: "I bet the cost of this scene (about 5 seconds) is higher than a whole large-scale 3-D action movie."

Not What It Looks Like: Takumi was mixing up something, probably cake frosting, when Chise and Fumino collided with him. Daigoro and Ieyasu walk in to find the three huddled together on the floor, with smears of white semi-liquid all over the girls' clothing and faces...

Kaho Chikumaen qualifies as this as well, if those Security Personnel behind her in the anime version are anything to go by.

Omake: The DVDs include Mayoi Neko Neko Douga, which are ~3 minute shorts that include dancing, short sketches, Fanservice, and Rock Paper Scissors matches that end badly for the loser. It's close to Shaft without actually being so.

Pacing Problems: Evident in the anime. Speech seems to be sugar rush fast in comparison to other anime shows. Episode four makes this trope, as the first 11 minutes of the episode are loaded with fast speech and are then followed by a minute and a half long ping pong sequence that hardly has any action besides arm movement and a ball. No dialogue, no real relevancy to the plot...

Then Kaho overuses formal speech when talking with Takumi to the point where you can't help but laugh.

It's arguably just the style of the anime. And the fast paced speech gives way to slowed down Fanservice.

Panty Shot: Fumino accidentally gives Takumi a full view of her underwear whilst trying to get him to wake up, early on in the first episode. Surprisingly, that's the only time we get to see it for the entirety of the episode.

At the end of Episode 6 when the rest of the Stray Cats Appreciation Society get a gander at the PV Ieyasu made after the worldwide Filming Project From Hell, many of these are shown. Cue Ieyasu making a speedy ascent into Low Earth Orbit.

Recap Episode: The bonus metafictional episode 13, which has Fumino, Chise and Nozomi give in-character commentary on the show, including the opening and ending sequences. Highlights include Fumino wondering why her Panty Shot is the first thing after the opening, and Chise singing along with the Grand Braver theme.

School Swimsuit: Chise wears one for the swimsuit competition, despite her irritation to do so (it was sent to her from Kaho). Also seen being worn by Nozomi in one of Chise's travel scenarios in her head. Fumino wore one due to one of the command blocks she chose from the Jenga game.

Serious Business: The bloomers vs. spats/bike shorts war that the school erupts into. They even have their own anthems.

Also, when the group is filming a video for their club. Ieayasu takes his filming very seriously, going to various locales around the world.

Shipper on Deck: Not present with the actual characters, but the anime's opening and episode 9 really seem to favor Fumino.

Chapter 4 deals with the question of a name for the club Chise's decided to form. Several rejected suggestions are shown on a whiteboard in one panel; they're all the names of clubs from other manga or anime, starting with "SOS Brigade".

"Super Sentai" Stance: During the Stray Cats' worldwide filming expedition, this was the only thing filmed. In their school uniforms. In the freezing cold. They even had the colored smoke.

Take a Third Option: Nozomi refuses to take a side in the bloomers vs. spats war as that would mean being forced to choose between her two best friends, so she invents bloots and becomes a one-woman team.

Those Two Guys: Ieyasu and Daigorou, and, to a lesser extent, Satou and Suzuki, Chise's maids.

Tsundere: Fumino; Takumi is Genre Savvy enough to know what she actually means from what she says. Further lampshaded by Ieyasu in the second episode. He even knows how to push her buttons. For example, business is failing and they want to garner PR by having Otome enter a swimsuit competition, but she can't because there aren't any swimsuits in her size, so Takumi asks Nozomi to enter for them, saying that Fumino doesn't like this kind of thing. Sure enough, Fumino gets flustered about it and joins.

A Twinkle in the Sky: Happens to Ieyasu courtesy of Fumino and Chise after the promotional video they shot in episode 6.

Unlucky Everydude: Tsuzuki Takumi initially comes off as this, but he proves to be more insightful and understanding than most of the other characters, being able to relate to Nozomi's situation and knowing Fumino's true feelings towards him (not to mention pacifying Chise when she drops her guard). This effectively makes him The Everyman.

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